I teach a lot of short, pop-up workshops where people of wildly different ages and abilities come together around one tiny, brilliant problem: how to make a little cardboard automaton that moves. Ten minutes sounds impossibly brief, but with a little planning you can design a session that feels...
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DIY Projects
I love making miniature water because it’s one of those deceptively simple...
DIY Projects
I love making small, peculiar objects that ask you to lean in. This whispering...
DIY Projects
I like to keep a small maker’s kit with me almost all the time — tucked...
Tutorials
I love the little illusion of glass in scaled-down worlds: a tiny bottle that...
I like to keep a small maker’s kit with me almost all the time — tucked into a coat pocket, a camera bag, or the little pouch of my tote. It’s not a full studio (thankfully), but it’s enough to fix a torn postcard, rig a tiny prop for a...
I love the little illusion of glass in scaled-down worlds: a tiny bottle that looks like it could hold a drop of moonlight, a window in a paper house that catches the sun, or a miniature globe with a glossy, convincing surface. Over the years I’ve...
I love small projects that teach a technique and a mindset at the same time. A homemade thaumatrope is one of those perfect, tiny bridges between drawing, simple mechanics and the kind of patient repetition that builds confidence. Below I’ll walk...
I love small mechanical surprises — those tiny moments when something ordinary folds, flips or peels away to reveal a little secret. This hidden-hinge technique using a soda can tab and scrapbook paper is one of my favourite low-tech tricks for...
I stage tiny scenes — paper dioramas, miniature puppets, and small-scale sculptures — so the quality of light matters more than you might expect. Even a cheap keychain LED can be transformed into a soft, even wash that makes paint read...
I remember the first time I introduced paper mechanics to a roomful of people ranging from six to sixty. There was a hum of concentration, a flurry of scissors, and — thank goodness — a handful of moments where everyone stopped, looked up and...
I love the small discoveries that happen when you stop to look closely: a brushstroke that becomes a character, a tucked-away tool that solves a problem. Buying a padel racket can feel a little like that—an invitation to experiment, to try shapes,...
I love finding small ways to turn ordinary objects into pockets of surprise. One of my favourite quick transformations is turning a cheap secondhand paperback into a hidden-compartment prop — perfect for pocket-sized theatre, street magic bits, or...
I love tiny scenes that feel larger than life — a single glowing window on a miniature house can turn a shelf into a story. Over the years I've learned that the secret to making a tabletop lightbox feel cinematic isn't an expensive studio kit, but...
I first got hooked on anamorphic illusions when I saw a tiny warped drawing sit up straight only when viewed from a particular angle. There’s something quietly magical about a flattened image that resolves into readable text or a face when you...